EPT11 Malta Kicks Off with Italian Poker Tour

Yesterday marked the beginning of the PokerStars EPT Season 11 poker festivities in Malta, as cards went in the air for Day 1A of the Italian Poker Tour. This is the first time in history that the European Poker Tour is making a stop in Malta, and by the looks of it, it will be a great success.

Featuring a staggering number of 69 different events over the next ten days, the inaugural EPT11 Malta is the biggest EPT event so far. The first day of the IPT yesterday attracted 378 players who put up the buy-in of €1,100 for their shot at the title. Of those 378, 151 survived and will be returning for Day 2 tomorrow. The Italian Berardino Palmieri finished the day as the chip leader with a stack of 340k.

The event continues going strong today for Day 1B, as there are already 650 players registered, making it the biggest IPT event in history, breaking even the Season 6 record in San Remo. With registration still open for the next couple of hours, we are looking at a really huge field and, together with that, a big prize pool to be shared by those making a deep run.

Some of the prominent names who started the day but failed to reach the end include PokerStars-sponsored players Liv Boeree and Dominik Panka.

Alongside the IPT, a “Special Added” EPT High Roller event kicked off yesterday as well. Featuring a buy-in of €25,000 to distinguish it from the regular €10k High Rollers and the €50k Super High Rollers, this tournament attracted a total of 86 entries yesterday – 67 unique entries and 19 reentries.

The player returning with the biggest hopes for the title today is Oleksii Khoroshenin, as he finished leading the pack of 43 players who survived. There were only two more entries today, bringing the total number to 88 and the prize pool to €2,156,000. The distribution of prizes has just been announced and the winner will walk away with €572,300, while a total of 13 places will be paid. The minimum cash is €43,100.

The EPT Main Event will kick off on Sunday, March 22 and it's the event that everybody is looking forward to. With a great number of players gathered at the Portomaso Casino, we could be looking at a record-breaking number of entries for the European Poker Tour.

Of course, there are numerous other tournaments offering different buy-ins and game formats, so there is truly something for everybody’s taste and pocketbook. One special treat is the first Junior’s Event, also kicking off on Sunday, featuring a buy-in of €220 and allowing entry only to players aged 21 and younger.

All poker fans out there know that every EPT is a treat in its own right, with several days filled with great poker, big prize pools, and excitement, especially thanks to EPTLive. With Malta being introduced for the first time, we can safely assume that there will be some extras as well, so all that’s left to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Photo: Neil Stoddart, PokerStars Blog